Every year, the number of cybersecurity incidents increases. As a result, cybersecurity is a top priority for companies, now more than ever. But how do organizations arm themselves and which priorities do they set along the way? Proximus teamed up with Proximus SpearIT, Davinsi Labs, Telindus Nederland and Telindus Luxemburg to gain insights from CEOs, CIOs, and other key decision makers.
6 conclusions of the research report
Large enterprises
>250 employees
SME
<250 employees
I don't know
No
Yes
Has your company been forced to deal with cybersecurity incidents in the past 12 months?
Of the respondents who were aware of a cyberattack, 68% recorded one to five incidents. Nearly one out of ten companies had experienced over ten attacks.
Remarkably, in 22% of cases, those who have not detected incidents also have no insight into whether attacks have been neutralized or not.
The number of incidents detected
84% of large companies express concerns about the potential for cybersecurity incidents to occur within their own organizations. That figure is 70% for SMEs. Companies who have reported a cybersecurity incident in the past year express greater concern (about repeat attacks) than their counterparts who have not. Consequently, concerns here also rose in the past year.
Major concerns about repeat attacks
1 - 5
6 - 10
Unknown / not quantifiable
>10
How many cybersecurity incidents have been detected within your organization in recent months?
Big businesses most frequently hit
The number of big businesses (+250 employees) subject to cybersecurity incidents is significantly higher than the share experienced by small and medium-sized companies (10 to 249 employees). 60% of respondents at the big players (e.g. over 2,000 employees) reported an incident within the past 12 months. That trend could be attributable to better tracing at large companies or a higher frequency of incidents due to a larger attack surface.
(*) Any event or operation, e.g., ransomware, phishing, DDoS attacks, that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of an organization’s information systems and leads to loss of productivity, legal repercussions, reputational damage, data loss, etc.
Digital transformation creates loads of opportunities, but it also exposes businesses to new cyberattacks. We teamed up with five business partners to identify 2023’s key trends and threats.
I don't know
No
Yes
32% of respondents knew a cybersecurity incident* had occurred within their organization in 2022. This figure is nearly as high as last year’s. Of those who said that the company had remained incident-free, 15% were not entirely convinced or were not sure at all whether their response was correct.
1 in 3 companies was forced to deal with at least one cybersecurity incident in 2022.
**Respondents could select more than one cause.
Intentional incident
Accidental incident
I don't know
Combination
What types of incidents affected your organization?
Laptops / desktops
Servers
I don't know
Mobile devices
Office equipment (printers, access points, cameras, etc.)
Machines (industrial/operational technology)
Cloud applications
Network infrastructure
What kind of devices?
Of accidental incidents, the most frequent to occur (38%) were unauthorized activities, e.g. app downloads or sharing company data without permission. Data breaches also made up a significant share of accidental incidents (34%).
Respondents also reported incidents due to software bugs and misconfigurations in addition to regulatory infractions, including GDPR violations.
The biggest victims were laptops and desktops (33%). However, servers (20%) and cloud applications (12%) were also major targets.
Accidental cybersecurity incident types
2022’s top 3 intentional cybersecurity incidents
1. Social engineering (22%)
2. Ransomware (15%)
3. Malware (13%)
Implementing company-wide cloud security and getting all the actors on board is the message.
To prevent social engineering, it is essential that your company manages digital identities well. This way you protect the access to your network, your data, and the applications of your organization.
Companies recorded both intentional and accidental incidents. 29% of cases involved a combination of the two. Zooming in on incident** attribution, we see that social engineering, e.g. spear phishing, makes up the lion’s share of intentional attacks. Ransomware and malware, such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, complete the triumvirate.
Companies are affected by intentional and accidental incidents
Less than a week
Between 1 and 4 weeks
I don't know
Between 3 and 6 months
Between 1 and 3 months
When did you notice the incident compared to the estimated time of breach?
Inactivity with incidents has risen by 21% compared to 2020
It is worth noting that there is a sharp increase in inactivity among respondents who were victims of one or more cyber incidents. In 2020, 9% of companies and organizations had employees unable to work for some period of time. This happened to 30% of victims last year.
Almost three out of four respondents subject to a cybersecurity incident think they noticed it within a week of the breach. A span of three to six months was only the case for 1%. That is quite a feat, given that cybersecurity experts say that rogue hacker groups actually stick around in their target’s infrastructure for longer.
Half of incidents surface due to internal tracing. In 36% of cases, a combination of internal mechanisms, third-party notifications, and service provider notifications make the discovery.
When is an incident noticed?
Who detects the incidents?
Yes
No
I don't know
Did one or more incident(s) prevent some of your employees from getting their work done?
Thirty percent of incidents result in downtime. When that happens, an average of 28% of workers cannot get their jobs done. That downtime lasts over a week in 19% of cases.
A third of all cybersecurity incidents lead to employee downtime
2022
2021
Own IT personnel
IT partner / MSSP
Nobody
Both
Who manages / monitors your security infrastructure?
Less internal management
Companies are taking security infrastructure management less into their own hands. They rely more often on a partner or a combination of in-house staff with an IT partner or Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP).
36% of surveyed organizations experience a shortage of experts in their cybersecurity departments. Large corporations are in the direst straits (46%). Six in ten companies rely partially or fully on external partner services for their cybersecurity infrastructure management.
Shortage of IT specialists
When did the company go back to normal?
In most cases, the effects did not last longer than a day (60%). For 9% of incidents, the impact trailed on for more than a month.
10,000 euros or less
Between 10,000 and 100,000 euros
Over 100,000 euros
Could you estimate the total financial impact of the incidents on your company in euros?
Nearly half of cybersecurity incidents have a financial impact. Those costs are primarily linked to incident reporting, reduced productivity, and reputational damage (12%).
Of incident victims, nearly half knew the financial impact. 37% paid over EUR 10,000, with 11% exceeding the EUR 100,000 mark.
Incidents often result in a hefty bill
Greater sense of urgency among affected organizations
Companies that experienced an incident in the past year experience a greater sense of urgency and need. For this segment, 63% already have a strategy, and almost one in three businesses have one in the works. Consequently, a total of 92% of previously affected respondents have a cyber strategy in development.
More and more companies organize awareness training for their employees several times a year. And we see this in our respondents' results as well. In 2020, 30% of companies organized multiple awareness trainings for employees. In 2022, that percentage increased by 7%.
Sensibility training is increasing
Yes
No
I don't know
In development
Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?
Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?
A cybersecurity response procedure details the steps an organization should take when an incident occurs. A similar mechanism is already in place or in the works at 70% of all organizations. Once again, that percentage is highest for enterprises that experienced an incident last year.
Yes
No
I don't know
In development
Does your company have a cybersecurity strategy?
The foundation of an advanced risk policy is a good cybersecurity incident management strategy. Such a strategy is in place in 53% of companies. A strategy is in the works among nearly a quarter of those surveyed. In contrast, 14% report that they have not tackled the issue yet.
Cybersecurity strategy in development
Cyber resilience is a critical requirement of business continuity. Read the 5 tips indispensable for every organization.
Large enterprises
>250 employees
SME
<250 employees
Never
Once a year
Several times a year
How often do your employees receive cybersecurity awareness training?
Employee awareness raising is a critical first line of defense against the rising tide of cybercrime and Internet fraud, like social engineering. And yet, almost four out of ten companies do not conduct any cybersecurity awareness training. For SMEs, the figure is even as high as 46.5%. Nearly half of large enterprises (48.1%) organize more than one workshop a year.
Awareness raising still is not the gold standard
- Awareness raising (25.9%)
- Cybersecurity policy and strategy (18.6%)
- Mature IT security (17.9%), inter alia, by developing current security measures
Priorities for the next twelve months include:
2023 priorities
Remained about the same
Strongly increased (+20%)
I don't know
Significantly reduced (-20%)
How has your organization’s cybersecurity budget evolved?
22% of respondents had boosted their cybersecurity budget by over 20% in the past year. Big companies demonstrated the most substantial increase, with one in three respondents reporting a significant budget increase.
1 in 5 raises cybersecurity budget
in 2023
What are ICT decision makers worried about? What is the best strategy for addressing their challenges? Danielle Jacobs, Beltug CEO, and Christophe Crous, VP Segment of Industries at Proximus, share their insights about ICT in tumultuous times.
Secure your company in 4 steps
Discover Proximus’ 360° approach to securing your organization. Choose what works for you, from covering specific areas to an all-inclusive service.
Digitalks Podcast
A podcast on cybersecurity with new insights, tips and best practices from experts.
Every year, the number of cybersecurity incidents increases. As a result, cybersecurity is a top priority for companies, now more than ever. But how do organizations arm themselves and which priorities do they set along the way? Proximus teamed up with Proximus SpearIT, Davinsi Labs, Telindus Nederland and Telindus Luxemburg to gain insights from CEOs, CIOs, and other key decision makers.
6 conclusions of the research report
(*) Elke gebeurtenis of actie zoals ransomware, phishing, DDoS-aanvallen, enzovoort die de vertrouwelijkheid, integriteit en beschikbaarheid van de informatiesystemen van een organisatie hebben beïnvloed, en heeft geleid tot productiviteitsverlies, juridische gevolgen, reputatieschade, gegevensverlies, enzovoort.
I don't know
No
Yes
Has your company been forced to deal with cybersecurity incidents in the past 12 months?
Large enterprises
>250 employees
SME
<250 employees
The number of incidents detected
84% of large companies express concerns about the potential for cybersecurity incidents to occur within their own organizations. That figure is 70% for SMEs. Companies who have reported a cybersecurity incident in the past year express greater concern (about repeat attacks) than their counterparts who have not. Consequently, concerns here also rose in the past year.
Digital transformation creates loads of opportunities, but it also exposes businesses to new cyberattacks. We teamed up with five business partners to identify 2023’s key trends and threats.
1 - 5
6 - 10
Unknown / not quantifiable
>10
How many cybersecurity incidents have been detected within your organization in recent months?
Of the respondents who were aware of a cyberattack, 68% recorded one to five incidents. Nearly one out of ten companies had experienced over ten attacks.
Remarkably, in 22% of cases, those who have not detected incidents also have no insight into whether attacks have been neutralized or not.
Major concerns about repeat attacks
The number of big businesses (+250 employees) subject to cybersecurity incidents is significantly higher than the share experienced by small and medium-sized companies (10 to 249 employees). 60% of respondents at the big players (e.g. over 2,000 employees) reported an incident within the past 12 months. That trend could be attributable to better tracing at large companies or a higher frequency of incidents due to a larger attack surface.
Big businesses most frequently hit
I don't know
No
Yes
32% of respondents knew a cybersecurity incident* had occurred within their organization in 2022. This figure is nearly as high as last year’s. Of those who said that the company had remained incident-free, 15% were not entirely convinced or were not sure at all whether their response was correct.
1 in 3 companies was forced to deal with at least one cybersecurity incident in 2022.
Implementing company-wide cloud security and getting all the actors on board is the message.
Laptops / desktops
Servers
I don't know
Mobile devices
Office equipment (printers, access points, cameras, etc.)
Machines (industrial/operational technology)
Cloud applications
Network infrastructure
What kind of devices?
** Respondenten konden verschillende oorzaken aanduiden.
Intentional incident
Accidental incident
I don't know
Combination
What types of incidents affected your organization?
To prevent social engineering, it is essential that your company manages digital identities well. This way you protect the access to your network, your data, and the applications of your organization.
Of accidental incidents, the most frequent to occur (38%) were unauthorized activities, e.g. app downloads or sharing company data without permission. Data breaches also made up a significant share of accidental incidents (34%).
Respondents also reported incidents due to software bugs and misconfigurations in addition to regulatory infractions, including GDPR violations.
The biggest victims were laptops and desktops (33%). However, servers (20%) and cloud applications (12%) were also major targets.
Accidental cybersecurity incident types
1. Social engineering (22%)
2. Ransomware (15%)
3. Malware (13%)
2022’s top 3 intentional cybersecurity incidents
Companies recorded both intentional and accidental incidents. 29% of cases involved a combination of the two. Zooming in on incident** attribution, we see that social engineering, e.g. spear phishing, makes up the lion’s share of intentional attacks. Ransomware and malware, such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, complete the triumvirate.
Companies are affected by intentional and accidental incidents
Half of incidents surface due to internal tracing. In 36% of cases, a combination of internal mechanisms, third-party notifications, and service provider notifications make the discovery.
Who detects the incidents?
Almost three out of four respondents subject to a cybersecurity incident think they noticed it within a week of the breach. A span of three to six months was only the case for 1%. That is quite a feat, given that cybersecurity experts say that rogue hacker groups actually stick around in their target’s infrastructure for longer.
When is an incident noticed?
Less than a week
Between 1 and 4 weeks
I don't know
Between 3 and 6 months
Between 1 and 3 months
When did you notice the incident compared to the estimated time of breach?
Yes
No
I don't know
Did one or more incident(s) prevent some of your employees from getting their work done?
It is worth noting that there is a sharp increase in inactivity among respondents who were victims of one or more cyber incidents. In 2020, 9% of companies and organizations had employees unable to work for some period of time. This happened to 30% of victims last year.
Inactivity with incidents has risen by 21% compared to 2020
Thirty percent of incidents result in downtime. When that happens, an average of 28% of workers cannot get their jobs done. That downtime lasts over a week in 19% of cases.
A third of all cybersecurity incidents lead to employee downtime
2022
2021
Own IT personnel
IT partner / MSSP
Nobody
Both
Who manages / monitors your security infrastructure?
10,000 euros or less
Between 10,000 and 100,000 euros
Over 100,000 euros
Could you estimate the total financial impact of the incidents on your company in euros?
84% van de grote bedrijven uit zijn bezorgdheid over cybersecurityincidenten die zich binnen hun organisatie kunnen manifesteren. Bij de kmo’s (in Nederland: mkb) gaat het om 70%. Wie het voorbije jaar een cybersecurityincident heeft gesignaleerd, toont zich in grotere mate bezorgd dan organisaties waar dat niet het geval was. De bekommernis is in dat geval het voorbije jaar ook toegenomen.
Van de respondenten die zich bewust zijn van een cyberincident, registeert 68% één tot vijf incidenten. Bij bijna één op tien bedrijven gaat het om meer dan tien feiten. Opmerkelijk: wie geen incidenten detecteert, heeft in 22% van de gevallen geen zicht op de al dan niet geneutraliseerde aanvallen.
Grote zorgen om opnieuw slachtoffer te worden
In most cases, the effects did not last longer than a day (60%). For 9% of incidents, the impact trailed on for more than a month.
When did the company go back to normal?
Nearly half of cybersecurity incidents have a financial impact. Those costs are primarily linked to incident reporting, reduced productivity, and reputational damage (12%).
Of incident victims, nearly half knew the financial impact. 37% paid over EUR 10,000, with 11% exceeding the EUR 100,000 mark.
Incidents often result in a hefty bill
Companies that experienced an incident in the past year experience a greater sense of urgency and need. For this segment, 63% already have a strategy, and almost one in three businesses have one in the works. Consequently, a total of 92% of previously affected respondents have a cyber strategy in development.
Greater sense of urgency among affected organizations
More and more companies organize awareness training for their employees several times a year. And we see this in our respondents' results as well. In 2020, 30% of companies organized multiple awareness trainings for employees. In 2022, that percentage increased by 7%.
Sensibility training is increasing
A cybersecurity response procedure details the steps an organization should take when an incident occurs. A similar mechanism is already in place or in the works at 70% of all organizations. Once again, that percentage is highest for enterprises that experienced an incident last year.
Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?
Yes
No
I don't know
In development
Does your company have a cybersecurity strategy?
The foundation of an advanced risk policy is a good cybersecurity incident management strategy. Such a strategy is in place in 53% of companies. A strategy is in the works among nearly a quarter of those surveyed. In contrast, 14% report that they have not tackled the issue yet.
Cybersecurity strategy in development
Large enterprises
>250 employees
SME
<250 employees
Never
Once a year
Several times a year
How often do your employees receive cybersecurity awareness training?
Cyber resilience is a critical requirement of business continuity. Read the 5 tips indispensable for every organization.
Yes
No
I don't know
In development
Does your company have a cybersecurity incident response procedure?
Employee awareness raising is a critical first line of defense against the rising tide of cybercrime and Internet fraud, like social engineering. And yet, almost four out of ten companies do not conduct any cybersecurity awareness training. For SMEs, the figure is even as high as 46.5%. Nearly half of large enterprises (48.1%) organize more than one workshop a year.
Awareness raising still is not the gold standard
in 2023
What are ICT decision makers worried about? What is the best strategy for addressing their challenges? Danielle Jacobs, Beltug CEO, and Christophe Crous, VP Segment of Industries at Proximus, share their insights about ICT in tumultuous times.
- Awareness raising (25.9%)
- Cybersecurity policy and strategy (18.6%)
- Mature IT security (17.9%), inter alia, by developing current security measures
Remained about the same
Strongly increased (+20%)
I don't know
Significantly reduced (-20%)
How has your organization’s cybersecurity budget evolved?
Priorities for the next twelve months include:
2023 priorities
22% of respondents had boosted their cybersecurity budget by over 20% in the past year. Big companies demonstrated the most substantial increase, with one in three respondents reporting a significant budget increase.
1 in 5 raises cybersecurity budget
Digitalks Podcast
A podcast on cybersecurity with new insights, tips and best practices from experts.
Secure your company in 4 steps
Discover Proximus’ 360° approach to securing your organization. Choose what works for you, from covering specific areas to an all-inclusive service.